No password prompt at console after login prompt

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Helper/s

I have tried to add a login banner (for a telnet session) to our Unix HP 10.20 server.

I have edit the /etc/issue file with the nessecary text. I then edit the /etc/inetd.conf file in the following manner:

I added "-b /etc/issue" at the end of the following

"telnet stream tcp nowait root /etc/iiicpd telnetd"

All of above I have done not on the console but with WS_FTP Pro. I then wanted to go to the console and force inetd to re-read its config file with the command "inetd -c"

However, on the console I can't get the password prompt. I only get the new altered banner with the login prompt. If I typed the login name (root) instead of prompting me to enter the password it just return with the banner and login prompt again.

I have rebooted the server but with nou success. I can still login via WS_FTP.

I have also checked the permissions on the two file and it seems fine?
/etc/issue -r--r--r-- bin bin
/etc/inetd.conf -rw-r--r-- root iii

We are running a library system/database on the server (Innoppac Interfaces - iii).

Thank you in anticipation
Pieter Hattingh

[Marc Dijkstra]

Hi Pieter

My HP (although running 11.11) does not seem to have this problem.... I edited the inetd.conf, which has the standard:
telnet stream tcp nowait root /usr/lbin/telnetd telnetd
format and not the /etc/iiicpd with the -b and it works.

Ek sal op my 10.20 masjien bietjie rond-donner!

MND

[Marc Dijkstra]

.....just did it on a 10.20 box too.

Check out the inetd.conf file and your:
telnet stream tcp nowait root /etc/iiicpd telnetd
line.....

voorspoed.

MND

[John Palmer]

Hi Pieter,

Logging in at the console doesn't use telnetd. It uses getty (spawned from inittab) and login.

Have you got any non-ascii characters in /etc/issue or is it very large?

Does it display correctly when you telnet to the server?

Do you need to have the banner message displayed at the console? If not then revert to a short /etc/issue and use a different filename in telnetd -b

Regards,
John

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi

Your inetd.conf line is incorrect it shoud be:-

telnet stream tcp nowait root /usr/lbin/telnetd telnetd -b /etc/issue


Paula

[Frank Slootweg]

I think you might be missing the /dev/tty (*exact* spelling) special device file. If so, recreate it with "insf -e".

[Pieter Hattingh]

1) The feature to login to the server via Telnet is not enable on the server, so I am stuck with WS_FTP only!

2) I changed the /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/issue files back to what they were, rebooted the server but the problem remains.

3) Even before I edited the /etc/inetd.conf file - when everything as still ok -it read:
"telnet stream tcp nowait root /etc/iiicpd telnetd" and not "telnet stream tcp nowait root /usr/lbin/telnetd telnetd"

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi
AS you are stuck with ftp check that you are using binary mode for moving the files.

Paula

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi
AS you are stuck with ftp check that you are using binary mode for moving the files.

Paula

BTW How are you editing the files?

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Paula,

Thank you (and all of the other experts) very much for the help!

I was using WS_FTP to edit the files, so I did'nt do it on the console.

Could /usr/sbin/getty perhaps has something to do with the problem?

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Peiter

I have never used ws_ftp to edit files on a server but my worry is that ws_ftp may have placed control chrs/erronous chrs in the files you have edited.

That is why I said about binary mode to get and put the files.

Also do you have a make_tape_recovery tape as you caould then recover all files that you have edited from there.

If you do not have make recovery then once this problem is resolved download and install a very very good free utility.

If no make recovery do you have a system tape?

Paula

[Frank Slootweg]

> Could /usr/sbin/getty perhaps has something to do with the problem?

Have you seen my response (of 11:11 AM) about /dev/tty ? If so, what was the result?

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Frank,

I have checked for the /dev/tty special device file. It is indeed there but I can't view it with WS_FTP

Thanks
Pieter

[Frank Slootweg]

> I have checked for the /dev/tty special device file. It is indeed there but I can't view it with WS_FTP

What do you mean you can't view it? Does "dir /dev/tty" not return the normal ll(1)-style information? If so, why not?

In any case, it should be:

crw-rw-rw- 1 bin bin 207 0x000000 Dec 19 13:27 /dev/tty

Also it is not clear (to me) whether or not you have physical access to the system. If so, it is probably best to reboot the system to single uses mode ("ISL> hpux -is") and check things and go to "init 1" to check (only) the console login.

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Frank,

I finally manage to create a "normal user", with which I can login via a telnet session and then changed to root with the su - command. I checked /dev/tty:
crw-rw-rw- 1 iii iii 207 0x000000 Jan 26 03:12 tty

It seems fine though.

How should I check "init 1"?

Thank you in anticipation.
Pieter Hattingh

[oiram]

Hi,

Have you a /etc/securetty file? If you have one the problem could be there.

Best regards.

[Pieter Hattingh]

Hi Mario,

I have a /etc/securetty file.

What should the contents be?

At the moment it is only "console".

Greetings
Pieter Hattingh

[oiram]

Hi,

The file securetty should have the ports in which the root account is enable. In your case the only site from wich you can access to your system is the console port(man login). It seems to be correct. The owner should be root, the group bin and the permissions 600. Perhaps you can try to remove the file and try to login as root directly. If it works the problem is that every user that knows the root password could have access to the root account from whichever system. but probably it won??t work because I think this hasn??t got any relation with the changes you made in the system. Do some error message appear in the syslog.log file?

Best regards.

[oiram]

Hi,

Another question, could you login in console as another user,not root?

Best regards.

[Frank Slootweg]

If I understand things correctly, your problem is now solved:

- You can log in via telnet as a normal user and "su -" to root.

- You can *not* log in via telnet as root, but that is normal because the file /etc/securetty only contains "console", so root can only log in on /dev/console, the system console.

Is this interpretation correct?

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Mario,

Initially there was no /etc/securetty file. After the problem occured someone suggested that I create a securetty, which I did, but with no affect.

I can not login on the console with any user id. I do get the login prompt but no password prompt. The login prompt does'nt seem to accept any input at all. You can type anything at the login prompt (valid user or not), it will only comes back with another login prompt.

Thanks
Pieter Hattingh

[oiram]

Hi Pieter,
Could you post a ll of the /dev directory and the contenf of your /etc/inittab file?

Best regards.

[Frank Slootweg]

Concerning not being able to enter a password at the console:

You said that /dev/tty was:

> crw-rw-rw- 1 iii iii 207 0x000000 Jan 26 03:12 tty

Are you sure that it is "iii"/"iii"?
As I wrote, it should be "bin"/"bin" (use chown/chgrp as neccessary).

/dev/tty is used for entering the password, so if there is something wrong with it, you can get the effect which you have (not being able to enter a password).

[oiram]

Hi,
have you run fuser or lsof(better this program) to see if there are processes using /dev/console
Best regards.

[Pieter Hattingh]

Dear Frank & Mario,

Thanks for your time/help!

Mario, I have attached some of the files in question.

Frank, Will the changing of the group and owner of /etc/tty to bin bin instead of iii iii not have an affect on the users that must login on the cataloguing system(innopac)via telnet?

You will also see that the /ect/inetd.conf file is not the "standard hpux configuration" Note, again iii in the paths.

"telnet stream tcp nowait root /etc/iiicpd telnetd"


Thanks
Pieter Hattingh